Paint brush guard



Feb. 4, 1958 J. J. CARRABINE 2,821,734

PAINT BRUSH GUARD Filed May 4, 1954 United States Patent PAINT BRUSHGUARD Joseph J; Carrabine, Chicago, Ill.

Application May 4, 1954, Serial No. 427,509

2 Claims. (Cl. 15-448) The instant invention relates to a new andimproved type of guide and guard device for use with paint brushes.

More particularly, it relates to a new and improved guide andguard meansfor facilitating the accurate use of a paint brush in the painting of awindow sash, trim, moldings, wall junctions, or various paintingoperations where it is desirable that paint be applied close to, but notonto a particular adjacent surface.

An object of the instant invention is to provide an improved guide andguard device for a paint brush which is of simple and economicalconstruction and which can be readily applied to the brush as anattachment, or can be' incorporated in the brush by the manufacturer.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved bristle guardfor a paint brush which will serve to keep the bristles from contactingan adjacent part or surface which is to be kept free of paint, but whichis sufficiently flexible so as not to interfere with or prevent theintended use of the paint brush.

One feature of this invention lies in the provision of a guide and guarddevice pivotally mounted on the handle of a paint brush for lateralswinging movement toward and away from said brush, thereby permittingthe brush to be dipped into a can of paint without the liability, ofcoating the guide and guard device with said paint.

Still another feature of this invention lies in the p-r-. vision of aguide and guard device for use on a paint brush which comprises asupport plate member pivotally mounted on said brush and an oval-shapedguard plate member resiliently mounted on said support member such thatsaid support plate and said guard plate are normally held in a positionparallel to andin contact with the bristles on said brush, whereby saidguard plate member is adapted to oscillate in a plane parallel-to saidbristles, thereby preventing lateral deflection of said bristles whenthe same are flexed duringa painting operation.

Other objects, features and advantages of the instant invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art from the following discussion ofthe annexed sheet of drawings andthe appended claims.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view ofa conventional paint brush havingthe novel guide and guard device of the instant invention mountedthereon;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view similar to Figure 1, showing themanner in which the guard plate oscillates;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary viewof a paint brush handle withparts in section illustrating the manner in which the novel guide andguard device of the instant invention is mounted on a paint brush;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a paint brush having the instant guideand guard device mounted thereon. and illustratingthe manner in whichsaid device operates, and;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of; a paintbrush in operationillustrating the manner in which the instant guide and guarddeviceoperates.

As shown on the drawings:

The instant guide and guard device, shown generally at iltl in. thedrawings, may be suitably mounted on any, conventional form of paintbrush.

The paint brush 11 shown in the drawings, comprises an elongated handleportion 12 and a generally enlarged head portion 13. v l V i A bundle ofbristles or brush fibers 14 are mounted on the head portion by means ofa suitable rubber sleeve 15 and a thin band or ferrule 16 surroundingthe joint between the brush fibers and the head; The ferrule 16 isrigidly mounted in place bysuitable pins or rivets 17 The guide andguard device 10; which is pivotally mounted on one side of the handle12, comprises a support plate member 18 having an oval-shaped guardplatfe member 19 oscillatably mounted thereon by means of a pin 20; Boththe support plate member 18' and the guard plate 1i may be formed fromany suitable material, such as sheet metal, plastic or the like and maybe economically and easily produced by die stamping or similar methods.

The support plate member 18 comprises a generally elongated, ovalportion 21 terminating in a narrower shank portion 22. Downturned,opposed parallel ears or lugs 23 are formed integrally with the shankportion 22. and provide suitable means for pivotally mounting the guideand guard device it on the paint brush 11.

That is, the support plate 18 is pivotally mounted for lateral swingingmovement toward and away from the brush 11 by means of a pin, or thelike 24 which is journaled in suitably aligned apertures formed in theears'23. The pin 24 which serves as a fulcruming point for thesupportmember 18, in turn, is mounted in a suitably threaded pin or screw 25which is threadedly engaged in the head portion 13 of the paint brush 11as shown best in Figure 3.

The support plate member 18 having the oval guard plate 19 mountedthereon, is normally constantly biased toward the bristles 14 by meansof a U-shaped torsion spring 26.

As seen best in Figure 3, the arm portions 26a of the spring 26 arespirally wrapped around the pin 24 on either side of the screw 25 whilethe free ends of'thc. arms 26a are anchored or secured by being bentaround the shank of the screw 25.

The U-shaped portion of the torsion spring 26 abuts. against anoutwardly curved thumb piece 27 formed integrally with the support plate18. The spring loaded effect of the torsion spring 26 on the thumb piece27 normally and constantly urges the support plate 18 and the.- guardplate 19 to a position substantially parallel to and in contact with thebristles 14 of the brush 11. That is, in its normal operating positionthe guide and guard de-, vice-10 comprising the support plate 18 and theguard. plate 19, extends longitudinally of the bristles 14- and-is heldin a position substantially parallel to said bristles with the supportplate 18 and the guard plate 19- exerting a slight amount of resilientpressure against the bristles 14.

The longitudinal axis of the guard plate 19 is normally resiliently heldin an aligned position with the longitudinal axisof the support plate 18by-means of a centering spring- 28. The centering spring 28 comprises adouble torsiontype spring having longitudin ally extending arms 29a nd29a mounted on the support plate 18 as at 29b. A left} hand compressioncoil 30 is formedin the arm 29a intermediate the ends thereof, whilearight hand compression coil 31 is formed in the arm 29 intermediate theends. thereof. The free, end portions of the arms 29 and 29q, aresecured by an abutment tab 32 formed on the, g rd plate 19. i

The en t ns v s 28, na ssfli Walnuts Plat .2 to la e or m sa lx r e edu.,. heris. l either to the right or left as shown in dotted lines inFigure 2. Whenever pressure is not exerted on the guard plate 19,however, the centering spring will always return the guard plate 19 toan aligned position with the support plate 18 as shown in Figure 2 indark lines.

In using a paint brush having the instant guide and guard device mountedthereon for applying paint to a surface which is to be accuratelypainted without the painting of an adjacent, contiguous surface, onefirst disengages the support plate 18 and the guard plate 19 fromcontact with the bristles 14 by laterally swinging said support andguard plate away from the bristles 14. This is easily effected byexerting a slight amount of pressure with the thumb or finger on thethumb piece 27. The bristles 14 of the brush 11 are then dipped into asuitable container of paint. After the bristles 14 have taken up thedesired amount of paint, the pressure on the thumb piece 27 is releasedthereby allowing the torsion spring 26 to bring thesupport plate 18 andthe guard plate 19 back into a position which is substantially parallelto and slightly in contact with the bristles 14. g

In the actual painting operation the guard plate 19, which extends aslight distance beyond the ends of the bristles 14, is employed as aguide element to engage the work and operates as a means for directingthe flow of paint in relation to the surface being painted and anadjacent surface which is to remain paint-free.

The guard plate 19, as its name connotes, restricts the flow paint tothat side of the guard plate which is in contact with the brush.

This is due to the fact that the oval shape of the guard plate 19 allowsthe guard plate to rotate or oscillate in such a manner as to conform tothe contour of the bristles 14 which are flexed under the pressureapplied during painting.

The advantage of employing an oval shaped guard plate as versus othershapes may be more fully appreciated when one considers the curvature ofthe bristles 14 under flexing pressure. As with most uniformly flexiblematerials, the bristles 14 when bent or flexed tend to assume ageometrical shape substantially equivalent to a natural curve. Now, inorder for the guard plate 19 to most effectively prevent the lateraldeflection of the flexed bristles, said guard plate 19 should have ageometrical shape that always conforms to the contour of the bristlesregardless of the curvature imparted to said bristles by a flexingtension. I have found that a guard plate having an oval shape adequatelyfulfills these requirements. For, as seen best in Figure when anoval-shaped guard plate, such as 19, is eccentrically rotated oroscillated about a fixed point (such as the pin 20), said guard plate 19will always present an outer curvature to the working surfacesubstantially equivalent to a natural curve. Regardless of the amount offlexion exerted on the bristles 14, the oval guard plate 19 will alwaysrotate in such a manner as to follow the exact contour of the bristlesas they are flexed and present a complete barrier against the lateraldeflection of said bristles along the entire length thereof at anyparticular state of flexion. Accordingly, then, the guard plate 19always assures an accurate painting of a surface without the painting ofan adjacent contiguous surface.

The advantages of having the fibers completely barred from lateraldeflection along the entire length thereof is not merely of academicinterest. For, most paint brushes, unless they are accurately andexpensively produced, do not have fibers of uniform length. That is,some of the fibers or bristles may be shorter than others and not extendto the tip of the brush. When this occurs it is not suflicient to merelyprevent lateral deflection at the tip of the brush, for the shorterfibers, when flexed, may easily slip by the guard and cause smearing ofan adjacent surface which is not desired to be painted.

In the instant guide and guard device this cannot occur for the ovalguard plate 19 forms a complete barrier against lateral deflection ofthe fibers substantially along the entire length of the fibers 14 at anycontour or curvature which the flexed fibers may assume.

In addition, the guide and guard device of the instant invention iscapable of being operated with only one hand as opposed to prior guards,which usually require two hands, namely: one hand to grasp the brush andthe other to manipulate the guard device when the brush is dipped in thepaint. The novel construction of the instant guide and guard device,which allows the entire structure to be laterally swung away from thepaint brush by a. slight pressure on the thumb piece 27, eliminates thenecessity of employing two hands in its operation. This is not onlylabor saving but is also an added safety feature. For. in painting inoverhead positionsit is often advantageous to have one free hand forgrasping a ladder or other support. This, however, necessitates that thepainting operation, including dipping the brush in a can of paint, beperformed entirely with the other hand. With the instant guide and guarddevice this is easily accomplished, while with the majority of priorguards this was not always possible.

By employing the novel guide and guard device of the instant invention,it is now possible for an ordinary householder to paint the trim aroundwindows or doors without getting paint on adjacent surfaces. Inaddition, the instant guide and guard device may be advantageouslyemployed in painting trim, moldings, or junctions of walls with floorsor ceilings or adjacent walls such as the corner of a room or the like,wherein the wall and another surface are each to receive a differentcolored paint.

1t will, of course, be apparent that a paint brush having the novelguide and guard device of the instant invention mounted thereon is notrestricted to use in merely the painting of trim or the like. For, theguide and guard device may be easily laterally swung out of engagementwith the bristles and the brush may then be used for paintingsubstantially any surface.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that l. have nowprovided a new and improved guide and guard device which may be securedto a paint brush and which will enable even an unskilled person to painttrim and other fine work rapidly without danger of smearing adjacentsurfaces.

It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that variouschanges and modifications may be effected without departing from thenovel scope of the instant invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a guard and guide device for a paint brush having a handlestructure and bristles connected therewith, a support plate pivotallymounted on said handle for lateral swinging movement toward and awayfrom the bristles, means on said support plate for manually swinging thesame away from the bristles, means biasing said support plate toward thebristles in opposition to said manual swinging of the support plate, anoval guard plate to accommodate guarding during curvilinear movement ofthe brush having a narrow end with a small radius of curvature adjacentthe bristle ends and its opposite end swingably carried by said supportplate for swinging movement in a plane generally parallel to saidbristles, said oval plate being a solid plate extending the full lengthof the bristles, and resilient means yieldably urging the major axis ofsaid oval plate into alignment with the bristles.

2. In a guard and guide device for a paint brush having a handlestructure and bristles connected therewith, a support plate pivotallymounted on said handle for lateral swinging movement toward and awayfrom the bristles, means on said support plate for manually swinging thesame away from the bristles, spring means biasing said support platetoward the bristles in opposition to said manual swinging of the supportplate, an oval guard plate having a narrow end with a small radius ofcurvature adjacent the bristle ends to accommodate guarding duringcurvilinear movement of the brush, said oval guard plate being a solidplate extending the full length of the bristles and being pivotallymounted at a large end opposite the narrow end for swinging movement ina plane generally parallel to said bristles, and

spring means urging the major axis of said oval plate into alignmentwith the bristles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

